Move over chicken noodle, there's a new soup in town!

When it's cold outside or you're stuck sick in bed with the cold or flu, nothing sounds better than a nice bowl of warm, hearty soup! Chicken noodle soup always seems to be the go-to soup for these occasions, however there's more than one soup to cure what ails you - tomato basil soup! Tomatoes are packed full of vitamin C, vitamin A and antioxidants, they are great for digestion, reducing your risk for stroke, heart disease and cancer. Add in garlic for even more heart disease, digestion and antioxidant benefits. I truly feel this is the new penicillin of soups!

One of my most favorite and versatile soups is a hearty tomato basil soup. It's great for just about everyone- adults, kids, gluten or dairy intolerance, vegans, vegetarians and so on. Sure, you can go to the store and pick up a tomato soup in a can, but why do that when it's so easy to make it yourself and you actually know what's going in to it! Just looking at the label of a very popular soup that is out there, what the heck is this stuff?! Corn syrup solids? YUCK!

So let's skip the store bought soups and fill your tummy's with a batch of homemade Hearty Tomato Soup today!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups Chicken Broth or Stock (vegetable stock for vegan/vegetarian option)

• Olive Oil – ¼ cup

• One 28oz. Can of tomatoes

• 3 lbs. Fresh Roma Tomatoes

• 1 TBS Sea Salt

• 1.5 tsp Pepper

• 2 cups, chopped White onion

• 6 diced Fresh Garlic Cloves

• Sprinkle of Red Pepper Flakes

• 2 cups chopped Fresh Basil Leaves

• 1 tsp Thyme

OPTIONAL ADD-INS

• Cooked Gluten Free Pasta (one box of penne or rotini)

• 1 can of kidney beans and white beans (rinsed)

• 2 lbs cooked, diced chicken breast or ground turkey

• Top with a sprinkle of cheese or Braggs Nutritional Yeast

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. While waiting for your oven to warm up, clean and chop the roma tomatoes in half and place them in a bowl with the olive oil and salt and pepper and mix to coat all the tomatoes. Once the oven is ready, place the tomatoes in a single layer on a sprayed cookie sheet and pour the remaining olive oil mixture all over the tomatoes. Bake for 45 min.

2. While your tomatoes are baking, start peeling and dicing your fresh garlic, onions and basil. (*Hint: to easily remove the skin from the garlic clove, lay the individual clove down on a cutting board and using the flat side of your knife, firmly press down on the clove until you hear a "pop". This will break the clove free from the skin and make it easy for you to peel.) Once the onion and garlic are chopped, add a little olive oil and saute them in a large pot over a medium heat until nice and golden brown.

* Onions were omitted from this recipe due to an onion intolerance.

3. Next, add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and chicken stock to the pot and let simmer until the tomatoes are done baking in the oven. Add the baked tomatoes and remaining olive oil and spice mixture to the pot.

4. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes and then place everything into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

5. Once pureed, you can now add in any additional items such as pasta, chicken, ground turkey or beans. Served hot or cold.

One of my favorite things to accompany my Tomato Basil Soup is with an

Ambrosia Juice Co. inspired Turkey, Cheddar and apple sandwich:

• Preheat your oven to 350, or if you have a panini maker or Foreman Grill- even better!

• Place 4oz. of nitrate-free turkey (Boars Head or Applegate Farms are two great choices), once slice of cheddar cheese and 1/2 of a thinly sliced apple on two slices of Ezekiel or sprouted grain bread.

• Place your sandwich on a cookie sheet in the oven or in your panini maker or Foreman Grill and toast for about 5 or so minutes, or until your cheese is nice and soft. Eat with a cup of Tomato Basil Soup and you'll be in heaven!

#soup #tomato #antioxidants #vitamins #coldflu